Cotton-cleaning apparatus.



J. OCONNELL. COTTON CLEANING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27. I917.

l Q3Q Q$Q A Patented Sept. A, 191?.

- IN V EN TOR. WITNESSES:

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1e entree.

JOHNOCONNELL, 0F COHOES, NEW YORK. i

x I I CQTll'OhT-CLEANHtG- APPARATUS.

mamas.

To all whom it may c0ncern.

Be it known that I, JOHN OCONNELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residin I and tate of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Got.

ton-Cleaning Ap aratus', of which the tollowing is a specl cation.

This invention relates generally to machines for cleaning fiber, such as cotton fibers and the like, for example. More particularly,-the invention relates to-the delivery endof-such machines and to the removal of the fibers therefrom. The invention is capable of eneral ap l1- cation to all'machines for c caning ti er.

specific uses, namely, opener.

For example, it may be advantageously ernbodied in cotton openers, breakers, plckers, and machines of like character; For the purposes of illustration, however, the .in-

vention will be disclosed in but one of its The main, object of this invention is to provide in a machine for cleaning cotton andthe like automatic means whereby the cotton, while still in loosened conditlon, may

be conveyed from the machine to any desired point, such, for example, as another cleanin machine. 1

Anot er object otthe invention is to provide in .a machine tor'cleaning cotton and the like a pneumatic means adjacent the delivery exhaust cylinder of the machine, to convey the cotton in loosened condition 'to another point or to another machine, and means assoclated 'wlth' the pneumatic means to permit operation of the latter without neutralizin the suction through said exhaust cylin er. I

Other objectsand advantages will appear in the description to follow and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.-

The invention, in an embodiment at pres ent preferred, is shown for illustrative pur- .poses in the accompanying drawing, .in

whichfeed .end of another cotton opener with the improved means for transferring cotton from one to the other.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A represents a suitable casing in which the usual parts of a cotton openerare mounted, Only Specification ofLettei-s ratent.

at Cohoes, in the county of Albanyas applied to a cotton the delivery end of the opener has been illustrated and for amore complete disclosure of the machine reference is made to my copending application Serial No. 157,603 filed March 27, 1917.

The exhaust c linder 1, of usual construction, is connected source of suction as the tan indicated roughly by 2. Cotton after having been cleaned is drawn to cylinder 1 and formed in a layer thereon. An'arcuate'plate 3 adjustably movable closely adjacent the inner periphery of cylinder 1 as indicated is arranged forv circular adjustment about the axis of the cylinder to close off any desired portion of its perforatedperiphery. A rotatablepicker wheel 4 is arranged to pick off- '-the cotton from cylinder 1. Sector 3 releases -thehold on'the lap of cotton on cylinder 1 at theproper' time for it to be picked ed by "wheel 4:. Another wheel -5 cooperates with the latter, and the cotton is opened up into zfinely divided form and thrown up a pipe 6. -The point of release of the cotton lap from cylinderl may be varied, asdesired, and as may be required for diflerent working conditions or difi'erent qualities of material. The structure thus far described is well known in the art, and a more complete disclosure may be had by reference to the above-identified copending application.

Patented Sept. 4t, 1911 "27. Application filed March 27, 1917. Serial to. 157,602. I A 1 by a passage 2 to a suitable Reference B represents the casing of another machine located at a distance from the described machine, as, tonexample, on

illustration as similar to that isclosed in the above mentioned copending application. Exhaust cylinders 7 and 8 of the usual type are arranged in proper relation for cooperative action to lap the cotton delivered there to in loosened condition in a manner to be described. The cotton delivered from the exhaust cylinders in lap form passes to and between a pair of feed rolls 9 which, in turn, may deliver the lapped cotton to a heater cylinder or the like. Cylinders? and 8 are connected by passages 10 and 11, 16SPBC- tively, to a substantially vertical pipe 12 on this machine has been illustrated, and-it may be considered for the urposes of will rthe rear side of casing B. Th pipe 12 is connected by a pipe 13 to a, suitable exhaust fan It. a

The described passage 6 is upwardly inclined and intersects a vertically arranged pipe 15. The latter extends to the feed end of casing B having a gradually curving and diverging mouth 16 opening toward and adjacent to the exhaust cylinders 7 and 8. Pipe 15 extends a considerable distance below its point of intersection with pipe 6 and the lower end of pipe 15 has an opening therein which may be controlled by a valve or damper 1'7. The latter may be held in various positions of adjustment by any su table means such as the slotted arm 18, for example.

The operation of transferring cotton from machine A to machine B will now be described. It will be obvious that fan 14 creates an upward draft in pipe 15, the air entering through the opening near the base of the pipe. The amount of air entering pipe 15 and hence the degree of suction produced therein, is regulable by valve 17. It will be noted that the suction through the exhaust cylinder 1 and pipe 2, operative to hold the cotton fibers to cylinder 1, is opposed to that produced by fan 14. Therefore, the latter cannot be permitted to draw the cotton directly from picker wheels 4c and 5 through passage 6, for the efiiectiveness of exhaust cylinder 1 would thereby be seriously diminished. By providing an in let at the base of pipe 15, however, an upward draft is obtained therein which does not impair to any appreciable extent the operation of exhaust cylinder 1.

The picker wheel 4: removes the cotton lap from cylinder 1, and by coaction with picker wheel 5, loosens the cotton fibers and throws them up the pipe 6. The revolving wheels 4: and 5 exert sufiicient force on the fibers to throw them upwardly through pipe 6 into pipe 15, and the fibers are then carried by ilpward draft to the mouth 16 and thence to the exhaust cylinders 7 and 8. The latter act in the usual and known manner to form the fibers into a lap which is then delivered to feed rolls 9.

Thus the fibers cleaned by one machine may be rapidly and efliciently carried while yet in loosened condition to another ma chine or to any desired point. Moreover, this result is obtained automatically by means which do not neutralize or impair the effectiveness of the suction from the exhaust cylinder of the delivering machine. The fibers, being relatively light, require but relatively little force to carry them upwardly, and the regulable upward draft is sufficient to accomplish the transfer of the fibers wi hout interference with the oper ation of the machine delivering the fibers.

nv ntion has been described in tow vtor illustrative purposes, but

f .ne invention .is defined by the 1. Apparatus for cleaning cotton and the I like, comprising in combination, a cleaning machine including an exhaust cylinder to collect the cleaned fibers and picker wheels to remove the fibers from said cylinder and to loosen and expel the fibers, a second cleaning machine at a distance from the first machine and suction means to automatically transfer the fibers in'loosened condition to the vfcedend of the second machine, and means to regulate the force of said suction means to prevent neutralization of the suction fromsaid exhaust cylinder.

2. In a machine for cleaning cotton and the like, an exhaust cylinder to collect the cleaned fibers, picker wheels to remove the fibers from the cylinder and to loosen and expel the fibers, a passage extending to a predetermined point and into which the fibers are expelled, and means to create a draft in said passage to convey the fibers expelled therein to said point, and means to regulate said draft, all constructed and arranged for the antomatictransfer of fibers in loosened condition to a predetermined point without neutralizing the suction from said exhaust cylinder.

3. Apparatus for cleaning cotton and the like, comprising in combination, a cleaning 7 machine including an exhaust cylinder to collect the cleaned fibers and picker wheels to remove the fibers from said cylinder. and to loosen and expel the fibers, a second clean ing' machine at a distance from the first machine, an exhaust cylinder therein, a passage extending from the latter adjacent to and beyond said picker wheels and into which the fibers may be expelled from the latter, and a regulable opening in said passage at a point beyond the picker wheels, all constructed and arranged for the automatic transfer of the fibers in loosened condition to the exhaust cylinder of the second machine without impairing the effectiveness of the exhaust cylinder of the first machine.

at. In a machine for cleaning cotton and the like, an exhaust cylinder to collect thev the like, an exhaust cylinder to collect the create a draft in said passage to convey the fibers, picker Wheels to remove the fibers fibers expelled therein to said" point, said from the cylinder and to loosen and expel vertical portion bein arranged for the sepa- 1th the fibers, a passage extending to a preration of impurities rom the loosened fibers 5 determined point, said passage having a veras they pass therethrough. tical portion into which the fibers are expelled in loosened condition, and means to JUHN UCONNELLQ 

